Lincecum stars, Giants get 15 hits in 9-4 win

Apr 30, 2009 - 6:29 AM
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer

SAN FRANCISCO(AP) -- Considering where Tim Lincecum and the San
Francisco Giants stood 12 days earlier, the right-hander was
grateful to head into May with his game back on track and his
club back at .500.

Lincecum allowed six hits and struck out eight while pitching
into the eighth inning, and Bengie Molina drove in four runs in
the Giants' 9-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on
Wednesday night.

Molina had a homer, a two-run triple and an RBI single among the
Giants' season-high 15 hits, while Edgar Renteria had four hits
and drove in two runs in their eighth win in 11 games. San
Francisco has roared back from a 2-7 start to the season with
ample help from Lincecum, who dramatically snapped back into his
2008 form in his last three starts.

Lincecum (2-1) didn't allow a run in the first seven innings,
improving to 3-0 in four career starts against the Giants'
biggest rivals. He retired the first 10 batters and rarely faced
trouble until Los Angeles' three-run rally in the eighth, but
the bullpen finished San Francisco's second win in the
three-game series.

"You always think the Dodgers are going to be a little bigger,
because of the rivalry," Lincecum said. "But you always want to
try to do the same things. ... Everything felt fine. Pitches
were moving the way they were supposed to."

After a bumpy start to his defense of his NL Cy Young Award,
Lincecum has struck out 33 in 23 innings while allowing just
four runs and 16 hits in those three starts. He even survived
his first chance to pitch against Manny Ramirez, who reached
base twice but couldn't get the Dodgers' offense going.

"We started to pick up on him later, but it was too late by
then," said Juan Pierre, who had two hits while batting ninth in
the Dodgers' unusual lineup configuration. "He's a bulldog. He's
guy you have to beat. Tonight he got some runs early, and we
couldn't get to him early enough."

Los Angeles rallied in the ninth inning of Tuesday's 5-3
victory, but the Giants replied with one of their most
comprehensive efforts of the season while their freezing fans
amused themselves by shouting down the few Dodgers faithful at
their waterfront ballpark.

"Especially after a tough loss, it's important that you wash
them off," San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. "It started
with Timmy on the mound, but the offense really came alive.
Especially after that little losing skid, it was important to be
resilient in this game."

Eric Stults (2-1) yielded five runs and seven hits while failing
to get out of the third inning for the Dodgers, who closed their
nine-game road trip with three losses in four games.

"He just couldn't throw the ball where he wanted to throw it,"
said Dodgers manager Joe Torre, who might have to recall a
pitcher from Triple-A before Thursday's home game against San
Diego. "He's all about command. He's not overpowering. He just
wasn't able to command his pitches tonight. He had a good
curveball, but his other stuff wasn't there."

Torre put Stults in the eighth spot in his lineup and hit Pierre
ninth, making the move for the first time in his nearly three
decades of managing in the majors. Torre thinks the stratagem,
used regularly by St. Louis manager Tony La Russa, will create
more chances for Pierre to steal bases and more RBI chances for
Ramirez.

The plan didn't pay off until the eighth inning, when Pierre hit
a leadoff single and scored the Dodgers' first run on Orlando
Hudson's broken-bat double. Lincecum left after walking Ramirez
to load the bases, and Los Angeles scored two runs with Jeremy
Affeldt on the mound before closer Brian Wilson got Casey Blake
on a foul pop.

Wilson gave up Pierre's RBI double in the ninth, but got his
fifth save in six chances.

Notes: The Dodgers open an 11-game homestand, their longest of
the season, Thursday night against San Diego. Los Angeles is 6-0
at Dodger Stadium this season, but has played fewer home games
than any team except the Yankees. ... Molina's triple was his
first since May 23, 2007, and just the fifth in 4,016 career
at-bats for the portly catcher. He hit his fourth homer of the
season in the seventh.

NLAT SAN FRANCISCO - SCORING UPDATESOLO HOME RUN BY BENGIE MOLINA (4) TO LEFT WITH 0 OUT IN THE 7TH OFF SCOTT ELBERT.CURRENT SCORE: LA DODGERS 0, SAN FRANCISCO 7DUE UP FOR SAN FRANCISCO: A ROWAND (.288, 1-FOR-3)